With Ghost Riders, the Efficient Space label continues to push the boundaries of what a compilation can be. Collecting forgotten garage rock gems from the ’60s and ’70s, Ghost Riders takes listeners on a journey across North America, mapping out the rocky creative road of artists who never quite made their mark. Throughout 17 deep cuts, nostalgia and melancholy meet in a guitar-flooded soundtrack to the past, a collection of songs that tells a story that’s as much about the American dream as it is about the music itself.
Compiled by record collector and graphic designer Ivan Liechti, Ghost Riders offers a small glimpse into the youthful ambition and dreams of artists who dreamed of rock stardom. The collection focuses on tracks which have left little trace except in the memories of those who heard them played on their radios or in their local record stores when they were first released.
Featuring tracks from some lesser-known garage rock acts from across the U.S., the album includes artists like The Mod 4, The Yardleys and The Tempters, who were popular for a brief period before returning back to the “real” world with little or no recognition of their contributions to rock music. Taken as a whole, Ghost Riders is a remarkable journey through some of the most sensitively produced raw rock ’n’ roll from the genre’s formative years.
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